Raising The Bar!

Forget about the rather common chakna and the plebian peanuts as bar snacks, and get ready to nosh on a whole new spectrum of quirky and oh, so interesting bar eats being served up at the Mumbai’s hottest ‘wateringholes’

By Raul Dias

Gosht and Sandalwood Mulayam Seekh Kebab
Served up in a dish that’s fashioned on the lines of an old coal clothes’ iron, the quirkiness of these kebabs is further enhanced when you bite into them and discover their canny little secret. Sandalwood! Yes, the silken soft lamb seekh kebabs are flavoured with rose petals, sandalwood, ginger, green chilli and smoked with stone flower and accompanied by dry fruit bakarkhani with a spritz of fresh coriander jalapeno chutney
At Razzberry Rhinoceros, Juhu Hotel, Airport Area, Juhu
Call 7400402604/05
Cost Rs 625

Baked ‘Vegetarian’ Chicken Puff
Do pardon the rather oxymoronic name of this bar bite and just take a bite of this delectable Cantonese snack. It is prepared with a base of flour and oil along with a filling of deep fried mock chicken, sesame seeds, black pepper powder, vegetables, egg yolk, oyster sauce and chopped onions along with the seasoning of salt and spices.
At Yauatcha, Raheja Tower, BKC, Bandra East
Call 9222222800
Cost Rs 295

Dhokla Redefined
This one is made up of six pieces of sweet, authentic dhokla that have been seared with clarified butter, and served hot topped with guacamole and feta cheese. All this is then garnished with cilantro fronds.
At Radio Bar, Hotel New Castle, Linking Road, Bandra West
Call 26499900
Cost Rs 290

Amritsari Fish Popcorn
Bar Bar—the Kurla drinking bar, has garnered quite a reputation of going pop with its food. Here, the chefs have taken some classics and then added a fun twist to them. The Amritsari fish popcorn is one such example. A seafood lovers go-to snack, this bar bite has chunks of fish cooked in spicy Amritsari masala and served with a side of mint-mango chutney.
At Bar Bar, Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg, Kamani, Kurla West
Call 33126020
Cost Rs 269

Yucca Chips
Yucca aka. cassava aka. manioc is a root vegetable native to Latin America and is known for its versatility. Made from this tuber, the hand cut chips at Lima are served at the bar either fried or baked. The chips are then dusted with a chipotle chilli rub and accompanied with a freshly made sriracha chilli mayonnaise.
At Lima, Maker Maxity, North Avenue 2, BKC, Bandra East
Call 30005040
Cost Rs 225

Smashed Avocado and Smoked Jalapeno Falafel
Here, South America meets the Middle East with this take on a humble falafel that’s jazzed up with a smashed avocado pulp, smoked jalapeno peppers and pumpkin and served with a side of quinoa cracklings.
At Estella, Nichani Kutir, Juhu Tara Road, Juhu
Call 7999998232/7999998212
Cost Rs 450

(An edited version of this article appeared in the 29th May 2017 issue of the evening edition of Mid-Day newspaper, India http://www.mid-day.com/articles/mumbai-food-quirky-food-city-hottest-bars-falafel-yucca-chips-seekh-kebab/18289196)

Who put the savoury in my dessert?

From kidney beans and goat’s cheese to olive oil as dessert ingredients—and a whole lot more in between—restaurants around the city are pushing the envelope as far as their new summer desserts are concerned, with many that seemed to have merrily skipped off the savoury menu onto the desserts’ one!

By Raul Dias

Pink Peppercorn Mousse with Passion Fruit Curd
Now, usually desserts end on a sweet note. But in this case, the idea behind it was to create a combination of a sweet taste with a strong sharpness to the palate. Bordering on spicy, but yet, clearly a sweet, summery dessert, this one is the quirky sum of its rather incongruous (yet supremely complementary) parts! A visually vibrant dessert is an infusion of 70% dark cocoa that has a bitter sweet taste mixed with pink peppercorns. It is further enhanced by the sweet and sour passion fruit curd and edible chocolate soil that completes it.
Chef Speak: “The inspiration behind this dessert was the pink peppercorn as an ingredient. It is versatile in nature and is vastly used in European and Mediterranean cuisine. But in this case, we wanted to experiment with it in a dessert course. The blending of ingredients that leads to a combination of sharpness and sweetness lends that ‘X Factor’ to the dessert.”
- Chef Anil J, executive chef, Razzberry Rhinoceros
Price: Rs 375
Available at: Razzberry Rhinoceros, Juhu

Wasabi Ice Cream Sandwich with Fried Nori Strips
Think of a typical K Rustom ice cream sandwich. Now, imagine it going to Japan and retuning back! Voila, you’ve decoded this sinus-busting dessert that is composed of a thick slab of piquant wasabi ice cream ensconced by two malt shortbreads and served up with crisp, fried nori seaweed sheets. Dripping (quite literally!) with nostalgia, this bordering-on-savoury dessert has done so well with diners since the restaurant opened two months ago, that the team is planning to add two more rather outré flavours; pan pasand and gulkand.
Chef Speak: “We wanted to make a modern dessert drawing inspiration from our childhood’s nostalgic elements. K Rustom ice cream sandwich has been part of our lives for the longest time. Hence, we came up with the idea of an ice cream sandwich. I have a background of oriental food and the (restaurant’s) owner Aditya and I thought of making a wasabi ice cream sandwich with nori strips.”
-Chef Sandeep Moktan, executive chef, Gymkhana 91
Price: Rs 235
Available at: Gymkhana 91, Lower Parel

Manila Halo Halo Sundae
This red kidney bean-redolent iteration of Halo Halo is an ode to the popular cold-savoury-sweet dessert that is served across The Philippines, from roadside stands to ritzy hotels. Dished out in a champagne coupe, the dessert combines shaved ice with condensed milk and generous piles of sweetened kidney beans, jellies, and rice crisps. The Halo Halo is a representation of a broader spectrum of other Southeast Asian desserts—like Cendol from Indonesia, Ais Kacang from Malaysia—where savoury element like cream corn, kidney beans, chestnuts are combined with shaved ice to which a sweet component that comes from either syrupy sweet condensed milk or rose syrup are added.
Chef Speak: “According to me, the best dessert that The Philippines has to offer is the Halo Halo. It’s a complete dessert snack with the perfect balance of sweet and savoury that’ll satisfy you till the very last bite. It’s an explosion of different flavours and texture, and is the perfect summer coolant for a hot summer day.”
-Chef Paul Kinny, culinary director, Shizusan Shophouse & Bar
Price: Rs 295
Available at: Shizusan Shophouse & Bar, Lower Parel

White Chocolate Parfait with Goat’s Cheese Ice Cream and Beetroot Sponge
This one’s the perfect example of one of those bizarre pairings that make you go, “What, really!?”, much like dark chocolate and chilly—another knockout combo, if there ever was one. But in this case, it is the smoothness of the white chocolate and the tartness of a goat’s cheese ice cream that work their magic together in this dessert. All this, ably supported by ‘supporting acts’ like microwave beetroot sponge and raspberry colie along with some dehydrated raspberries that finish off this culinary chimera.
Chef Speak: “Cheese and ice cream isn’t the most common combination, but the flavour harmony they create is unmatched. I like how it compliments certain dishes, like this one, when used in the right proportions—never too much, just a splash for subtle floral notes.”
- Chef Yogendra Adep, chef de cuisine, Luna Gusta at The St. Regis Mumbai
Price: Rs 650
Available at: Luna Gusta at The St. Regis Mumbai, Lower Parel

Basil Ice Cream with Olive Oil and Pine Nuts
The very idea of sitting down to a dessert of basil ice cream with olive oil and pine nuts may seem a bit nuts (do pardon the pun!) to most. But trust us when we say, that this pesto-esque ice cream is perhaps, the best rendition of olive oil used innovatively that we’ve seen in a very long time! Interestingly, the genesis of this rather outré dessert is a result of a spin-off of The Sassy Spoon’s very popular basil fondant with its gooey, herbaceous green core that has its own legion of sweet-toothed fans.
Chef Speak: “I used olive oil was because I was actually thinking along the lines of pesto and the ingredients that go into making a good pesto. Apart from the parmesan and garlic in a savoury pesto, I felt these flavours worked well together and the olive oil also gives a nice, smooth texture, with the pine nuts adding a lovely bite to the ice cream.”
-Chef Rachel Goenka, CEO/owner and chef, The Sassy Spoon
Price: Rs 100 per scoop
Available at: The Sassy Spoon at Nariman Point and Bandra

(A shorter, edited version of this article appeared in the 22nd April 2017 issue of the Mid-Day newspaper, India http://www.mid-day.com/articles/food-news-mumbai-restaurants-summer-desserts/18187189)